"When we first sat the XFX GeForce 8800 GT 512MB next to the reference NVIDIA card something just didn't look right. XFX implimented a larger fan and also increased the opening in the cover to let more cool air in. The slits on the sides of the cover have also been increased to improve airflow around the capacitors and other heat producing components. The changes to the cooling really paid off as the XFX GeForce 8800 GT was 15C cooler at idle and 8C cooler at load thanks to the increased airflow. Not bad considering the XFX GeForce 8800 GT Alpha Dog is running overclocked! Our review sample have a core clock frequency of 625MHz and the reference cards from NVIDIA run at 600MHz..."

"Antec has come up with a possible solution for those wishing to
quiet their noisy PC down to an acceptable level. Introducing the P190 +1200
Advanced Super Mid Tower from Antecs Performance One series. This case
boasts not only superior cooling performance but they say it can do this
while remaining reasonably quiet."

"AMD's ATI Radeon HD 3870 is a great product for the money, but its
price point is incredibly important to its long term success. I say this
because unfortunately for AMD, there's a certain G92-based graphics card
from Nvidia which delivers, in some cases, quite a bit more performance
for not much more financial outlay. With that said though, if you're an
AMD/ATI fan or are on a budget, the Radeon HD 3870 is by no means a dud
-- this and the Radeon HD 2900 XT are like night and day.
It's a great time to be in the market for a new graphics card, because
there are treats on both sides of the fence. If it wasn't for the
GeForce 8800 GT, the Radeon HD 3870 would be one of the few graphics
card worth serious consideration if you want value for money and, as a
result of this, it earns a solid recommendation from us."

"Back in September, 2007 we reviewed the ABS-Tagan TG1300-U33 ITZ 1300 Watt power supply and found it to be one of the best of the new generation of high-output power supplies. Our only functional concern with the ITZ 1300 was that it did not use a modular design. Modularity in power supplies has become extremely important to computer enthusiasts as it allows them to only use the wiring necessary to facilitate their system's operation. As one might expect, modular cabling further aids in the efficient management of your cables as it can vastly decrease that mass of extra wires that you have to deal with in the top/bottom of your case."

"Even though some of the functions of this software are already built into Windows, it's convenient to have them all available to use from one simple interface. I can see this being especially useful to those users who might not be very computer savvy yet still want to keep their machine running smoothly."

"Whether you're ready for it or not, the
holiday season is upon us. It's time to think
about buying gifts, prepping for travel and
psyching yourself up for a crash diet before
the big holiday binge. It's also time to
think about sending holiday greeting cards to
your loved ones, family, friends, co-workers,
clients and acquaintances. Sending holiday
cards can either be a half-hearted chore that
barely expresses how you feel, or it can be a
true art-form; a fun project that expresses
your thoughts and feelings toward those that
impact your life in a positive way. Here are
a few websites (and a couple physical stores)
that will help you design a card perfectly
suited to your way of life. Happy holidays!"

"The RD600N-2DC-SL-SLV Stallion Series 600W unit is just one of a handful of Rosewill power supplies presently on the market. With a highly polished finish, a pair of blue LED fans, and well finished cables, it is obviously an attention grabber. This review will take a look beyond the flashy exterior to see if this stallion is a work horse that your system can rely on."

"This card would make a great video card for a PC that needs extra graphics muscle for running the cool new features of Windows Vista. The onboard sound card also makes this a great choice for a budget home theater system."

"The first alpha release of Ubuntu 8.04 was scheduled to be
released today, but the official release has been pushed back until
tomorrow. However, a preliminary CD image of this first alpha release
for Ubuntu 8.04 LTS has surfaced today on the Internet. While there is
still seven more Ubuntu 8.04 test releases planned before the final
release of Hardy Heron in April, we have already started exploring this
first Hardy Heron LiveCD."

"What makes the Vendetta unique, is the fact it uses three copper heat pipes that each make direct contact with the processor to ensure the most rapid heat transfer. The 'V' shaped stacked aluminum cooling fins feature dimples that are supposed to add turbulences, thereby reducing the skin effect of laminar air flow. Basically, this CPU cooler was built to tackle heat-induced performance degradation and to solve the cooling challenges of today’s enthusiast system builds..."

"The Cooler Master CM 690 is a nice looking case, there’s no doubt in
my mind about that, and the fact that its available for around fifty
quid in the UK only sweetens the deal. On top of that, the cooling
performance is pretty admirable.
Does the case have problems? Sure it does, but nothing is perfect. The
plentiful ventilation grilles mean that the case can get pretty noisy,
especially if you have it on your desk right next to you monitor. That’s
only going to get worse the more fans you put in the case too, though it
can also be solved pretty easily by putting the case in a desk alcove.
The main problem with the case though is the apparent flimsiness of the
material and the fact that the build quality is occasionally a little
suspect. The front of the case doesn’t meet the side panels or the top
of the case all that well, even on the side that I didn’t damage.
Regardless, the Cooler Master CM 690 is still a very worthy addition to
the catalogue and the cheap price means that pretty much anyone can
justify the expense. It may not be the most flash case we’ve ever seen,
but it does what it says on the tin and it does it well at that. There’s
not much more you can reasonably ask for."

"The year 2007 probably will be viewed as the year that people really got their eye up on the whole environmental issue, regardless if you believe in our impending doom or not. No one can deny that wasting energy is not exactly a good thing and if you, like me, live in a country where electricity comes at quite a high price you would want to keep the power usage down. Unfortunately it still seems that the price to pay for being at the technological bloody edge is that you consume electricity at the same rate as a small third-world nation."

"Under normal circumstances, a 2.1-channel system for over £450 would be
considered expensive, but with so many unusual value-adding features on
board the SC-PTX7 that amount of cash feels strangely justified,
especially if you don't have the space (or permission) to install a full
5.1 setup."

"Sunbeam's Mini Plant is a wolf in sheep's clothing. The PSU comes in an ATX standard sized casing but offers up to 950W of power. With most other manufacturers this means that the PSU fan will be very loud, not with the Mini Plant. Actually the fan is the quietest we ever tested in the 900W+ segment, you can almost not hear it, even under load."

"Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said Microsoft and Sony will need to drop
their console prices to $199 in the next 12 months in order to better
compete against Nintendo's Wii, which is in short supply, thanks to
its innovative features and attractive gaming style. This advice is
excellent, and Microsoft and Sony will definitely have to lower their
prices to better attract consumers who are in love with Wii."

"Nintendo's success with Wii thus far has been amazing, especially
considering its underdog status and a stigma that was attached to it
before Wii. However, the company has recouped that image, stuck with
its brand and its meaning, and gained a lot of respect from consumers.
And for right reasons. The Wii is a super product that deserves
praise. Not to mention, Nintendo is insanely innovative to release
appropriate accessories that just make sense, one of which is the
newly announced Zapper."

"What was Amazon thinking? Kindle? Seriously? Like a lot of other
rational people, I don't see the point in lugging around Kindle. It's
really just a luxury device for gadget lovers who have everything and
are craving for something more to add to their collection. I could go
on and on about why Kindle is a disaster, but there are some key
issues to point out before I dissect and start looking for minute
abnormalities."

"This is huge. Absolutely huge! Google's idea of passively attacking
wireless carriers with Android is working with Verizon Wireless, the
number two carrier in the US, announcing its decision to open its
network to other devices and applications as long as they pass the
company's certification test."

"Over the past few months, the concept of green computing has become all
the rage. But the undeniable fact is that often times with this low
impact approach to computing, we end up sacrificing actual computing
power, which makes this a tough sell for many. Frankly, to me it just
feels like a marketing ploy. Could this perception be felt by others as
well?"

"I have heard a number of people tell me that as much as they love the
speed of development and the community, sometimes Ubuntu just gets ahead
of itself. And I suppose in a larger sense, this is what makes Linux
such a fantastic platform in the first place. If you dislike GNOME, you
can use KDE, or instead, pick a slimmer desktop manager like Fluxbox.
Wireless woes? Try another distro, use Wicd, instead of network-manager
or opt for a wireless switch. The point is that there is always more
than one way to overcome a challenge in the Linux world."

"Leopard is finally here, and life's good for the most part. As I’ve
lamented before, both of my Macs are PowerPC instead of Intel. I have
one of the first G5 iMacs and one of the last PowerBook G4 models, and
while my hardware is capable of running Leopard, I’m still debating
about whether or not I’ll take the plunge on these machines."

"The days of saying DDR3 memory can't run tight timings are long gone now that memory kits can run 1333MHz with 4-4-4-12 timings with a little extra voltage. It just goes to show that it is possible to run tight CL4 or CL5 timings on DDR3 and it is likely that upcoming memory IC's might be able to improve on the frequencies at which these tight timings can be run. The Corsair WIN3X2048-1800C7DFIN G DDR3 memory kit is the only DDR3 kit that I have seen run CL4 memory timings above 1333Mhz..."

"Here we are at the end of November, and what a month it's been. It's
almost hard to believe that anybody has had any time to do modding
projects as of late, being as the pile of great games just keeps getting
higher and higher. On top of that, those of us who are Stateside have
had the Thanksgiving holiday to contend with - and those
Tryptophan-laden turkeys don't just eat themselves!
Despite all of that, it seems that you talented modding types have
managed to find time for the art. Maybe it's the chill, dreary weather,
maybe it's the impending holiday season - but whatever the reason, it
seems you guys have been modding like fiends. Which is great, because
good mods never take a holiday.
This month, one of you will be walking away with another prize pack from
the folks over at AC Ryan, as well as a bit of love from motherboard
manufacturer MSI."

"This is the first product I have reviewed from X Spice and I must say that it has made me look forward to receiving further product samples from them. The Croon BF 700 is solidly built and performs well."

"It's been a while since the mid-range G84 hit the market. To be frank, after testing this card I had my doubts of its hierarchy in the community. Regardless the class, these cards along with entry level ones are the actual dough makers (do not confuse it with kitchen dough). High-end and enthusiast products are just a loose change, however they play a very important role in the market. Prestige and respect among (pardon the term) fanciers."

"The 17in MacBook Pro is really a fantastic machine for creatives and
anyone else looking for a high-powered, high-style laptop with a large
screen. Sure, it does cost a little more than your average Windows
laptop - around £2,100 for this configuration with the extra RAM from
Crucial, compared to more like £1,600 for something similar from Rock.
But aside from the obvious visual appeal, this kind of hardware
specification demands an OS to match up, and OSX does the job far better
than Vista."

"The YP-P2 does have some niggles, but we still like it. It's
attractive, well-built, easy to use, stuffed with features - including
Bluetooth - and has superb sound quality and a wonderful screen. In its
8GB guise it is a little more expensive than the nano, but if you've
fallen in love with the touchscreen way of doing things and just can't
bring yourself to pay for the iPod Touch, why not go for a YP-P2? It
doesn't have Wi-Fi, but it's a cheaper, slimmer and more compact
alternative."

"Today I shall be looking at a new product from possibly one of
the better-known manufacturers of pc hardware. The manufacturer is
Antec and the product in question is their range topping power supply
the True Power Quattro 1000. Which delivers a full kilowatt of power."

"Time is money in the SMB and Corporate Enterprise sector, and anything that can cost less while saving time is sure to be a popular
commodity. The Synology Cube Station CS407 4-Bay SATA Gigabit NAS is a gigabit network appliace which offers more features and functionality than
most Windows Server 2003 R2 domain controllers... for less than the price of the Server Operating System! Benchmark Reviews gives this Network
Attached Storage server a full host of tests as we uncover the value inside."

"Back in July we looked at the Gigabyte GeForce 8600GT graphics
card. This midrange GeForce 8 series graphics card came equipped with
Gigabyte's Silent-Pipe II cooler, which made for a fan-free experience,
while still managing to overclock quite well. In this review today we
are looking at its bigger brother, which is the Gigabyte 8600GTS. In
addition to using the slightly faster G86 core, the GV-NX86S256H
utilizes the Silent-Pipe III cooler. Gigabyte's Silent-Pipe III is much
larger than its predecessor while using two large heatpipes."

"The Kossart h50 is a new headset in the bang-for-the-buck category. It is made by the Swedish based company Kossart and is aimed at gamers looking for an affordable solid performing headset. In our review we were impressed by the excellent build quality which is there to last."

"This is the latest gaming mouse from Razer and offers the highest levels of sensitivity to be had for PC gaming.
The buttons on the left side of the mouse fall exactly where my thumb typically rests when I game. Normally when that happens they end up being clicked accidentally. However, the buttons on the Lachesis require more than an accidental touch to activate them. You have to want to use those buttons, which is a good thing."

"//Assassin's Creed could have been so much more: given better enemy
AI, more variation in the missions and a more coherent storyline, this
could have been a game that lived up to the hype. Unfortunately, what we
have is a game with amazing graphics and not much else.
The gameplay on its own isn't really that bad, but it's far from the
hyped up genre defining spectacular we were all lead to expect. The
brutal reality is that because the game tries to be a jack of all trades
it ends up as a master of none.
There are better stealth games out there and better platformers and
better third-person shooters too. For plot, there are more convincing
science fiction games and more interesting historical games.
How exactly the game managed to build so much hype on just a handful of
screenshots and a trailer or two, I'm not sure. It feels a bit like a
developers conceit, and the game has been sold on the one thing it
lacks: innovation and originality. The game ends up as entirely average.
Let's hope Ubisoft can fix things in time for //Assassin's Creed 2, a
game which is surely on its way given the phenomenal and somewhat
baffling success of the first game."

"It's not like 1,600MHz FSB CPUs will be saved for X48 either, since
Asus has already added support on its X38 boards. If Asus can manage
this, we have no doubt that everyone else will follow suit too, which in
turn kills any potential hardware leverage the X48 might have had.
On the overclocking front, Asus has shown me that it has achieved 568MHz
FSB with an E6550 on air with a moderate voltage increase, however the
team behind that must have a gem of a CPU because I can only get our
QX9770 processor to match the results we got with our P5E3 Deluxe, which
topped out around 500MHz FSB.
If you've already bought an X38 then don't stress about X48 - you're
already there, just keep your BIOS up to date. However what worries me
is that since X38 is hardly the performance demon what we expected it to
be over P35 - where does this leave Intel's mid-to-high end chipset
business?"

"With LCD and plasma TVs being all the rage in today's market, it is a shame that DLP projection TVs aren't getting the recognition they deserve. For the money, they offer more value, larger sizes and better black levels than their thin cousins. Until this review, I too thought that DLP would be a flickering annoying mess. But this TV, for its huge size, still pumped out a crisp picture that I thought would be only seen on smaller versions."

"Going into this review I had no idea of what to expect. I wasn't particularly familiar with Aeneon and honestly didn't expect their memory to be able to outperform similar kits from the likes of Kingston and Crucial. With the ability to run at tight timings and overclock nicely, this kit made a solid impression and is definitely worth keeping your eyes out for."

"The ability to hear is the ability to experience the world around us in a manner that none of our other senses can give us. Sound is what lets us know when an unseen object is nearby or far away. Sound is what tells us when someone is angry or upset. It conveys emotion and helps us develop a sense of space. Sound lets us know when we are in a cavernous hall or a cramped room. Without sound the world around us becomes empty. For years when it came to producing sound on a computer there was one company above all, Creative Technology. With their supremacy over the sound card market it would be an uphill battle for any company to offer a competing product. Then Vista came along and changed the rules. Now with a even playing field manufactures have started to offer their own brand of sound card. And thus I present to you a sound card from a company known for high quality product, the Xonar D2 and Xonar U1 Sound Station. Two products for two very different purposes."

"With the Pearl 8120, RIM is clearly trying to push further into the
consumer's consciousness and retain its business fans too. The device
doesn't go far enough to capture all consumers - where's the 3G and the
oodles of internal memory, for example? But it does show that RIM is
trying harder than ever to break out of its ‘businesses only' box.
Design-wise it's on the button. Features-wise there is still a little
way to go. And as a whole, it's certainly recommended."

"Provided it's showing a bright, colourful scene from an HD source, the
LG 37LF66 can deliver really outstanding pictures - and in this respect
it definitely outguns most other budget LCD TVs. The only ‘little'
problem is that sadly we happen to live in a world where standard
definition and darkness still have a rather significant part to play in
our lives, meaning that for much of the time the pictures you'll be
watching on the 37LF66 really aren't very special at all."

"Whether we like it or not, Microsoft is going to continue to be just
fine. No thanks to Vista mind you, rather because of what I call the
'New Coke Syndrome.' When it comes to offering a new version of your OS,
offer one that is so Beta, so poorly thought through that people are
ecstatic about the previous release."

"Although I do use Windows for some work related tasks, other than that,
I’m basically on either one of my Macs 100 percent of the time. The
switch has been very good to me, and although I never thought that I
would get to the Machead stage, I’m definitely there, albeit in a
reasonable way."

"When it comes to the average user, they would be better off with a Mac.
Yes, I say this typing on my Gutsy box with my wife's new iMac in the
next room. When there is no support person around to help get things off
the ground, going with a Mac is the logical out-of-the-box solution for
most home users."

"A-DATA has recently released a 16 GB SDHC storage card, which is the biggest capacity available on the market. Their card offers not only plenty of storage, it is also extremely fast. Even though it is specified as Class 6 with 6 MB/s, we saw amazing 18 MB/s read and 10 MB/s write speeds."

"I have to say that this is the MUST card to have. XFX made a great job with the bundle and by
factory overclocking the card. Sure, one can overclock the card relatively easily but with a
pre overclocked card, one always retains the warranty."

"My son was easily able to control the car in the game in all play modes. Gameplay puts you in different Cars characters from the movie and some new characters from the video game. Game modes include different races from three different areas of the Cars world including Radiator Springs, Ornament Valley and Tailfin Pass."

"The 1600MHz dual channel memory kit comes rated with 8-8-8-24 at 1.8V and it was able to run either a command rate of 1T or 2T with no issues at this clock frequency. This is due to the fact that Crucial's 1600MHz memory kits use highly screened Micron ICs that have been found to offer great timings and high clock frequencies. With an Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 processor running at 450MHz Front Side Bus, we were able to reach 1800MHz at 2.20V with 7-7-7-20 1T timings on the 1600MHz Crucial Ballistix DDR3 memory kit..."

"A few years back Logitech introduced the G15 Keyboard to the
masses. No one had seen a keyboard that resembled the likes of it before. It
took some of the features that people had been hacking into their own
keyboards and made it mainstream. But that was a few years ago and now
Logitech has updated the looks of the G15 and has re-released it. Was it
worth the trouble for Logitech to redesign one of its most popular
keyboards?"

"Pioneer has come out with all guns blazing with the DVR-LX70D and
really hits the target. The array of features on offer is mind-blowing,
the superb user interface makes it a joy to use and the quality of
recordings is second to none. There are a few minor grievances and
omissions but nothing that stops us hailing this recorder as a complete
triumph."

"Although things start out well for the M800, the more practical aspects
of the phone's design brings it down to earth with a solid,
uncomfortable bump. It may have the better screen, excellent call
quality, a faster processor and nice design, but the controls are awful
and the keyboard isn't good enough to make up for these faults."

"There's no denying the TS-209 Pro is offering a wealth of features at a
very reasonable price although performance isn't particularly exciting
and the client backup software is very basic for an appliance aimed at
business usage."

"If gaming is your thing and the PC is your king then the Logitech G9 is
your one stop destination for gaming domination. It's well designed,
well featured and incredibly versatile and as such comes highly
recommended."

"For the last couple of months computer enthusiast forums around the world have been buzzing with discussion about the forthcoming release of NVIDIA's new 8800 GT graphics card. We have read every imaginable rumor from: 'The 8800 GT will be faster than the 8800 GTX' to 'The 8800 GT will replace the 8800 GTS' and all other speculation in between. Fast forward to today where the NVIDIA 8800 GT is now reality and no longer just speculation!"

"All in all, despite the one DOA fan these fans performed very well. The noise levels were decent and the fan controllers provided with each unit was a nice touch. I have had four of these fans running in my main PC for almost a month now and I honestly couldn't be happier with a fan."

"The Corsair Padlock Flash Drive arrived Technic3D. The USB Drive having a hardware-secured lock to protect their data. Users can program a PIN. Security and Fast? See you in the following Review against other Sticks."

"Whether you're a hardcore gamer with a set SLi or CrossFire
video cards or a hardware enthusiast with several hard disks and an
overclocked quad-core processor, the power draw your computer created can
quickly add up to an outrageous electric bill. With so many systems now
consuming 600W or more of continuous power, consumers are beginning to find
ways to conserve energy and save their money. CoolMax has joined the
80-PLUS revolution by offering their Green Power CUQ-1200B modular power
supply unit, and Benchmark Reviews inspects their claims as we load-test
this unit for AC power ripple and DC voltage regulation."

"Whether you're a hardcore gamer with a set SLi or CrossFire video cards or a hardware enthusiast with several hard disks and an
overclocked quad-core processor, the power draw your computer created can quickly add up to an outrageous electric bill. With so many systems now
consuming 600W or more of continuous power, consumers are beginning to find ways to conserve energy and save their money. CoolMax has joined the
80-PLUS revolution by offering their Green Power CUQ-1200B modular power supply unit, and Benchmark Reviews inspects their claims as we load-test this
unit for AC power ripple and DC voltage regulation."

"After the initial “OMG that's so cool!” reaction, the novelty wears
off pretty quickly after we had used it for a while – it looks fantastic
but any long term usability is destroyed by the fact *we simply couldn’t
read it!* It got extremely frustrating to continually have to contort
myself every time I wanted to read it, as I had to have my eyes directly
in front of it to make any sense of what was on screen.
For ?35 I was all set to recommend it to everyone after seeing it at
i31, but this fundamental problem makes it almost useless – I ended up
resenting to have to lean over and stretch my neck out / /yet again just
to read it. So does not wanting to actually use it make money well
spent? It can just sit there looking cool, which is fine if all you do
is show off your PC to others, but not if you want to use it //yourself.
It really, really kills me that Zalman just needs to sort this / /one
major issue to make it a product absolutely worth purchasing, but until
then it’s not worth the cardboard it comes in."

"Corsair, a company known for its high-performance system
memory since rising to enthusiast stardom in the late 90's, has been
toying around with the power supply market since last year when
introducing the Corsair HX series. After the successful introduction of
the HX520 and HX620, Corsair went on to introduce the VX series with the
VX450W and VX550W. In Corsair's latest move, they have now christened
the TX power supply series with the TX650 and TX750. In this review we
have the Corsair TX750 power supply for testing, which complies with the
ATX12V 2.2 standard, sports Active PFC, and offers a single
high-performance +12V rail."

"Gigabyte recently announced its new G-Power 2 Pro CPU heatsink which adds additional airflow to the CPU Mosfets. This airflow helps to provide additional cooling for those Mosfets, making it easier for the motherboard to provide stable power for hungry CPUs. The G-Power 2 Pro has some nice features, including a very quiet 120mm fan."

"Kane and Lynch is one of those odd games which manages to do so many
things right, but so many things wrong too. It’s clear from the offset
that the unrelenting pace, complex backstory and coolly violent gameplay
will make it an instant cult hit.
However, the less than impressive graphics, awkward multiplayer and
samey nature of the gameplay at the most basic level will equally just
put some people off.
If I were a psychic forced to predict the future of / /Kane and Lynch,
I’d say it’ll probably end up as one of those word-of-mouth games which
is constantly recommended by fans and critics. Somehow though it will
never really take off – like //Psychonauts or //Beyond Good and Evil,
both of which I heartily and ironically recommend.
It’s not that / /Kane and Lynch is a bad game. Quite the opposite.
//Kane and Lynch promises an exciting ride filled with vendettas, vices
and vengeance. Unfortunately, that isn’t a dish that everyone has a
taste for and those that are after something more basic and hi-res would
be better off looking elsewhere.
A good game on the whole, but one filled with minor flaws and issues, /
/Kane and Lynch has the potential to spawn a second, even more adult and
underground franchise for Eidos and IO. For the moment though, what
we’re left with is a well-told tale which does its best to stand out but
can never quite manage to rise above the crowd of other higher-def
shooters available this year. Worth picking up, but probably worth
selling on again a few weeks later too."

"The Tuniq Ensemble is Sunbeam's latest high-end PSU offering. It comes in at a whooping 1200 Watts with a large number of connectors included. For all your SLI/CrossFire needs you have two PCI-E 6-pin and two PCI-E 8-pin connectors available. Sunbeam has focused on making this a stable and efficient power supply and did a great job, the efficiency rating during our testing is well above 83%."

"Maximo Products, who makes their home in Vancouver, Washington and has been developing and marketing consumer-electronic products and accessories for many years, has introduced the iM-490S isolation earphones. The earphones, released just in time for the holidays are supposed to rival what is offered by “high end” earphone manufacturers. On paper, the iM-490S competes with headsets like the V-Moda Vibe quite closely. At its core, the iM-490S has an all-metal light-weight body design with neodymium drivers for maximum frequency response. All of this for under $50!
Article Title: Maximo iM-490S iMetal Earphones Review @ Legit Reviews
Article URL: http://legitreviews.com/article/599/1/
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"But the desktop case is special. It’s a completely different and independent entity that fulfills its function just by existing around other stuff. It’s a sculptural centerpiece that everyone notices, and it’s always flaunting some visual personality for your rig. For the artistically inclined modder, a Dremel can often chisel 1980s NEC Beige into Super-Ironic Water-Cooled Vintage-Inspired Mega Machine; but for the less savvy DIYer prone to slicing off some fingers along with lightweight aluminum, finding an appealing stock case can be a daunting chore."

"With the Exilim EX-S880, Casio once again proves that it is a force to
be reckoned with in the digital camera market. Although it is competing
with some very impressive products from other manufacturers, there are
few that can match its combination of ultra-compact size, excellent
build quality, striking design, crisp performance, superior image
quality and fantastic value for money. If you're looking for a pocket
compact the S880 should be near the top of your list."

"Both these speaker docks make good cases for themselves. If you were to
base a decision purely on sound quality then the Logitech Pure-Fi
Anywhere set wins the day, with its more musical tone and more
pronounced bass. However, the iRhythms A491 is still a decent sounding
little travel iPod speaker set and though it doesn't have the style,
build or bass of the Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere set, it does have video
out and is also half the price."

"This is a multifunction colour laser printer with a low asking price
and it could see a lot of application in small offices. It's not that
quick, particularly when printing colour, and is quite bulky, but print
quality is reasonable, especially when printing text. It's a little bit
expensive to print colour on and the five different maintenance
intervals could be irritating, especially if your print output is high
each month."

"The SteelSeries Siberia Neckband headset is the first neckband headset aimed at gamers. Besides being a neckband headset, SteelSeries further added to its capabilities by including an Xbox 360 adapter. Also included is a detachable volume control that sits on the audio cable."

"For the past month we had been running the 2007 Linux Graphics
Survey at Phoronix where we polled users to find out what display
hardware they use, what their driver choice(s) are, and their other
preferences as it pertains to Linux desktop users on the visual front.
We received over 20,000 submissions from this survey and have the
results to share with you on this Thanksgiving here in the United States."

"In this Thanksgiving Day issue of the Nouveau Companion, the
Nouveau team goes over what's left to do for a 2D stable driver release,
the current work being done on the driver, and an assortment of
Gallium3D and RandR 1.2 work. The stable 2D Nouveau driver wasn't
announced in this issue, but it's coming soon."

"After first whipping it out of the box, we were sceptical about the
DAV-IS10's ability to produce the sort of power needed for an awesome
home cinema experience. But after hearing the loud and sophisticated
sound bursting from these diminutive speakers, our cynicism proved
unfounded. It's a remarkable achievement that will have clutter-hating
home cinema fans jumping for joy."

"If you're after the fastest and most competent gaming notebook
available look no further, this is it. Rock's X770 T7800-8800 is a well
featured machine that's blisteringly quick, with an nVidia 8800M GTX
that will make mincemeat of most games you throw at it and an HD DVD
drive for high definition films. Just remember to earn lots of money first."

"On the game titles I played, I noticed a slight improvement in load times for games and levels, but nothing to write home about. External changes to the new PSP include the loss of the UMD eject button. You now simply pry the UMD bay door open with your fingernail. The WiFi button now sites where the eject button is on the old PSP."

"Almost everyone already owns one or has at least used one. They are everywhere, come in all shapes and sizes
and can be preloaded right from the store with goodies like music. The prices have come down at tremendous speed
for the last couple of years, which has caused the manufacturers to think of new ways to differe from the masses
and come up with something new to make their product stand out more."

"For the past two months, the AMD release train has been
running full speed ahead as they introduced their new driver code-base
and last month had dropped in the AIGLX support. However, this month the
AMD train has taken an intermediate stop as this closed-source driver
embarks on its next journey. As always, we have all of the details for
you on this month's ATI Catalyst 7.11 Linux display driver release."

"Gigabyte has done a wonderful job with the X38-DQ6 and I love the fact that it's a DDR2 board. With DDR3 memory prices being so high the X38-DQ6 allows you to have all the latest chipset features and run the less expensive DDR2 memory line. The board runs stable with all four memory banks full at both 800MHz and 1066MHz as that is the only way I have ever run the board..."

"The Silverstone Olympia OP650W PSU arrived Technic3D. See you in the following Review from Technic3D the next PSU Review with a high efficiency. Dual PCI-E 6pin connectors, Six Serial ATA connectors, Single PCI-E 8pin connectors and 54A single +12V."

"The SuperNova 600W power supply from AXP (in Europe) and Xion (in the US) is designed to be a cost effective solution for people who do not use things like CrossFire and SLI in their system. Another important feature of this modular power supply is that it has a number of LEDs placed in vital spots to give that PSU a really pretty outward appearance."

"One of the major complaints some of us had about the game too was
that the songs seemed a bit poorly chosen and that there were long
periods of inactivity. Sure, there's times when you need a moment to get
your funk back and rest your hand but for some songs these pauses are
incredibly long. You can honestly spend a good 30 to 60 seconds just sat
at your TV, waiting for the song to start again.
Another thing to take into consideration is the price -- the old guitars
are compatible with the new game, but we'd definitely recommend the new
wireless model. This naturally drives the price up by a few bob however.
In the end, it all comes down to the songs and a personal taste. If your
musical palette can stand to see the likes of The Who mixing with Rage
Against The Machine, something my father would have regarded as akin to
reputation-buggery, then you'll be well catered for with //Guitar Hero III.
It may be essentially the same game as //Guitar Hero II, just with a few
extra tweaks and songs added in, but that knife cuts both ways so that
what may sound like a bad thing is also pretty good. It may not be as
innovative as the first games in the series, but it's still as fun and
series fans will definitely want to pick it up."

"Not long ago I reviewed the A.C. Ryan eSATA external enclosure. One of my few gripes with it was that it was quite complicated to install/change hard drives in it, at least compared to many of its competitors. Little did I know when I wrote the article that A.C. Ryan already had taken care of this in their newest enclosure, the AluBoxTFX. This enclosure not only has all the features of the original AluBox eSATA (USB2.0 and eSATA support) but also offers a few other benefits over the original AluBox eSATA."

"At the eleventh hour of the Phenom production, AMD found an issue in
the L3 cache transition lookup buffer at very heavy loads which
prevented the company from launching it at 2.4GHz. When AMD announced
this to the members of press present at the event, there was that
horrible silence where opinion in the room just sank.
The company did state that there is a BIOS fix available which users
would be able to turn on or off in AMD Overdrive -- the company's new
tweaking utility, which actually looks pretty swanky -- as the
situations when end users are likely to encounter this problem are very
small in number. The penalty for enabling the L3 cache TLB fix all the
time is around a 10 percent performance decrease, which I guess is why
AMD is leaving users with the option to enable or disable the fix as
they see fit. The company's representatives said that the issue would be
fixed soon with a new stepping, which will probably be what the
higher-clocked chips will use when they're launched early next year.
However, I think there's more to it than this one problem in and of
itself. I got this inkling after asking one question during the event
about how mature the 65nm process was. See, we've still not seen Athlon
64 X2 chips based on the new process that are shipping in volume at
speeds higher than 2.6GHz. The answer we got was that the process was
taking longer than expected to mature -- part of the reason for this was
that the company had focused so hard on getting Phenom out of the door
in a respectable amount of time."

"I can understand why Panasonic has decided to come to market with a
37in Full HD LCD TV, but unfortunately the TX-37LZD70 lacks some of the
key features sported by its competitors. The lack of 1080p 24Hz may have
been acceptable six months ago, but these days, with plenty of HD
players offering pure 24fps output, this Panasonic looks to be behind
the times."

"Overall, the X1's are pleasing to listen to. They will most certainly
make a beautiful complement to your expensive new iPod Touch or iPhone,
especially in their smart black livery. And they're pretty comfortable
to wear too, though your mileage may vary here.
But their sound quality isn't quite balanced or good enough in the
mid-range and top end to cut the audiophile mustard, despite the claims
put forward by their marketing department. If your music collection
consists of a wide range of styles Shure's SE210's at a similar price
are still the better choice."

"For the first few hours it's unbelievable. For the next few hours it's
getting tiresome. In subsequent hours it oscillates wildly between these
two extremes. Buy Assassin's Creed as a work of magnificent ambition,
but try not to get caught up in its faults."

"The Alpha is NZXT's latest entry level case offering. While it does not cost a lot, it has enough space for an 8800 GTX or Ultra. This means that you can save a bit of money on the chassis and spend it on actual hardware, without having to worry about compatibility issues."

"The inside of the case is where you can really start seeing where the
HUSH name came from. Both side panels as well as the top and bottom
panels are covered with acoustic absorption mats. The mats cut down on
fan noise and any other noise your PC might make."

"Back in May we looked at the Corsair Flash Survivor GT 8GB.
This was Corsair's newest flash series at the time and instead of
continuing with the memory speed race, the Flash Survivor GT focused
upon being very durable. In our review of the Flash Survivor GT, we had
thrown it to the bottom of a pool, severely beat it with a hammer, and
boiled it in water, but at the end of the day, it performed like new
with barely any signs of damage. Less than a month later at Computex
Taipei 2007, at the OCZ private suite we came across their ATV Turbo
series. We finally have this new OCZ flash drive in our labs and have
tested it out in this review."

"To compare the PNY XLR8 8800 GT I reviewed previously that runs stock NVIDIA reference clocks scored 12812 total 3DMarks. When I tested the XFX 8800 Ultra XXX on the same system, it scored 14378 total 3DMarks. That is only 832 points lower for the XFX 8800 GT XXX than the current fastest card around from a video card costing around $300, exceptional performance by any measure."

"Although modern processors are following a trend of faster and cooler operation, many notebook computers can still get very warm under normal operating conditions. Throw in a frag session and it may be more than your online opponent that goes up in flames, mainly due to the heat generated by today’s higher-end video cards. Excess heat can damage your components and lead to premature failure. Thankfully, companies like Antec have produced various models of cooling pads to help mitigate overheating and keep your notebook in its happy temperature zone all for around $25.00..."

"ATP Electronics sent over a pair of 2GB USB flash drives for BigBruin.com to take a look at... the ToughDrive Mini and the Petito. Both drives boast similar speed specifications, Windows Vista ReadyBoost compatibility, and are available in capacities ranging from 512MB to 4GB. Where they differ is in style, as the ToughDrive Mini is a black ruggedized unit and the Petito is a dainty little pink thing with a sparkly finish."

"The Canon PowerShot A720 IS is an ideal camera for anyone who wants a
bit more creative control than most pocket compacts can provide, and
would be an excellent camera for anyone who wants to learn more about
photography. Build quality, design and performance are all excellent,
image quality is superb and the range of features is hard to match at
the price."

"It's a sad fact that a year on from its release the PlayStation 3 still
suffers from a lack of decent games. Hugo takes a look at just how he
can get some use from his console and sees if there's any reason to wipe
the dust of quite yet."

"It's certainly top-notch stuff for a DarkChip2 projector, but despite
the D10 doing a really SIM2-like job of getting the best from the
technology available to it, and is cheap by SIM2's standards, it's still
not quite cheap enough to see off all of its potential rivals."

"This software is without a doubt one of the easiest and fastest ways to optimize system performance by cleaning up the Windows registry. I noticed an immediate improvement in startup and shutdown times and programs open faster as well. Overall, the computer just runs a whole lot smoother and it only took a few minutes from start to finish. The interface is straightforward and designed in such a way that just about anyone will feel comfortable using it, and with backups automatically performed there's little to worry about in the way of any problems arising."

"Up for grabs in week twelve of Bigbruin.com's Pro Football Pick 'Em is an Ultra Products USB Buddy Hub! But, if we can get 100 participants for this week's game, the winner will receive an Ultra Products m998 Mid-Tower ATX Case in addition to the USB Buddy Hub."

"Super Talent has teamed up with Bigbruin.com for a new contest. Up for grabs are a total of three 2GB Super Talent DDR2 800MHz Memory Kits! To be entered into the drawing you must provide your e-mail address to be used with the Super Talent newsletter by December 19, 2007."

"We're going to forego the explanation of what separates DDR2 from DDR3 in this review, and jump right into overclocking the low latency Patriot Memory PDC32G1600LLK kit. Anyone willing to place a bet on how far she'll overclock; 1866MHz, 1960MHz, 2000MHz?"

"The Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3 Studio in-ear-monitors are aimed at the ordinary consumer looking for extraordinary sound performance. The Super.fi 3 Studio comes at a more resonable price tag of around $100, which is less than many other in-ear-headphones on the market today."

"If you're after the ultimate performance from an air heatsink the
Cooler Master Hyper 212 should certainly fit the bill with its included
high performance fan and dual fan option, but you'll need to swap the
fan out for a quieter alternative or at least lower the voltage on the
current one if pine for a quiet environment.
For those looking for an inexpensive but still capable heatsink, the
Hyper TX2 is a good purchase. With both AMD and Intel support included
it does more than the Arctic Cooler Freezer 7 Pro, but it's worth
remembering that the Freezer 7 Pro performs better and has a 4-pin
connector to knock the fan noise down on the many compatible
motherboards. The Hyper TX2 suffers from the same fate as the Hyper 212,
in that it's audible but not offensive, and the fan can again be swapped
out if need be, unlike the Freezer 7 Pro."

"Just like the Gigaworks T20s, the T40s are a superb set of speakers for
the price. Excellent clarity and a wide sound makes listening to music a
joy, bringing the subtleties of all kinds of music to life. Gaming and
film performance was also impressive and if you want an inexpensive but
high quality set of speakers for a living room, then these come highly
recommended."

"SMC offers a simple solution for providing wireless hotspot services
with a range of payment methods. It's still a little pricey but is
particularly easy to set up and use, provides good accounting facilities
and is better value bundle than
[linkouthttp://www.trustedreviews.com/networking/review/2006/06/05/ZyXEL-ZyAIR-G-4100-Hotspot/p1
ZyXEL's G-4100 hotspot], which costs around £100 more."

"As soundbar cinema systems go, the HTS8100 is a fine example. The sound
quality on offer is surprisingly sophisticated, and those angled speaker
drivers do generate a genuine sense of width that sets this system apart
from the virtual surround modes found in TVs and 2.1 systems. If you
can't afford and accommodate a proper separates system it's definitely
worth checking out."

"Microsoft is a big name in the computer industry best known for designing computer software and peripherals. There has been fierce
competition in the notebook peripheral market and Microsoft has been one of the main leaders in this category, and the demand for feature rich mice is
always on the rise. Today at Benchmark Reviews we have the new Blue-tooth Notebook Mouse from Microsoft which come with an ergonomic design, battery
life indicator, and high definition laser technology. Join us as we take a look at the new Microsoft 69R-00001 Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000."

"The Intel Core 2 Extreme Processor QX9770 offers a 1600MHz FSB and a 200MHz higher overall clock speed over the previous flagship processor from Intel. The result is a processor that is the fastest Legit Reviews has ever seen and it is one that AMD will be chasing after for many months to come..."

"Antec Performance One P190 is still a miditower, but both I and Antec would rather call it a Super Miditower, because it's a very large and most of all heavy case. Antec has chosen to include two power supplies at 550 W and 650 W respectively, which adds quite a lot of kilos/pounds to the weight, but also more than a few dollars to the price."

"There is still some nugget of charm buried deep within //Perseus
Mandate however and I was pretty surprised by the reaction of one or two
people in the office when I got my hands on it. Within moments, two
people had separately mentioned to me how they wanted to borrow the game
when the review was done so they could try it out. There just seems to
be something about the franchise that gets people coming back no matter
how bad I tell them the game is. The depressing thing is that I //know
how bad the game is, but I'll still probably give it another full
playthrough next time I have some time spare.
You see, that's the rub, as they say. / /Perseus Mandate isn't a great
game and it isn't even a good-looking game. But if you've read this
review this far then we have to take it that you liked the original
//F.E.A.R. an awful lot. If that's true then the chances are you're
going to pick this game up anyway, purely to experience the extra bits
of the story. It's a shame that you'll likely waste your time on
//Perseus Mandate, because with the number of great games coming out at
the moment there's no excuse to be caught playing //Perseus Mandate.
None at all."

"Apevia has been steadily adding to their listing of great, trend
setting cases. Does the all aluminum X-Jupiter draw us in and hold us like
the mighty titan planet it is named after, or is it just one of its dead
moons? Read on and explore this celestial object with us!"

"This Aliph Jawbone Bluetooth headset really shines when operated in noisy environments as the on-board DSP, multiple microphones and the unique Voice Activity Sensor sheds the unwanted sounds and isolates and enhances the user’s voice. Unfortunately, as great as this headset’s noise suppression and voice enhancement are, the headset really stumbles when you are actually trying to hear your party in these noisy environments..."

"I want to love the Siberia neckset – in fact, I do love it. It looks
good, it sounds great and the cables are all decently sized. On top of
that, the microphone is good too and I took the Siberia home to test the
mic out via Team Fortress 2, where it performed perfectly. The cable is
bendy and malleable and the mic itself is perfectly responsive.
However, no matter how much I love it I have to admit that I did have
problems with it. I found myself switching between the Siberia neckset
and the SteelSeries 5H v2 headset, which I recently re-discovered and
fell in love with. The 5H v2s use a similar ear-cup design and
microphone, but have a more conventional headstrap. It’s just a shame
that they don’t look as cool.
The Siberia neckset is a great little device in some ways and fantastic
in others, but its weak point is that the core of the design actually
ends up giving us a bit of a headache. If you’ve got a high tolerance
for pain or the right shaped head for the Siberia to grip to then you
might find that the Siberia is just what you’re looking for and they’re
also worth bearing in mind if you’re more concerned with the look than
anything else. If not, then you might want to look at what else is
available."

"The Kingwin KF-4000-BK 4-Bay Hot Swap SATA Drive Rack supports up to four drives in the space of just three drive bays. Enclosures like this are not only useful in servers, but as the storage needs of home users increase, they provide a convenient way to keep up and up-to-date."

"Launched in May of this year, Panasonic's Lumix DMC-FX100 was the first
12-megapixel compact camera on the market. It has since been followed by
several competing models from other manufacturers, some of which we've
already reviewed. Can a Leica-branded lens and intelligent ISO control
overcome the inerrant problems of ultra-high resolution sensors?"

"Overall the Y-CAM White is a very capable camera with all the features
the security conscious home owner or SMB could need. It's well built,
stylish, easy to use, and comes in at a great price. All that lets it
down is its reliance on Internet Explorer and ActiveX but even this is
something that should be remedied soon. Y-CAM are a great addition to
the IP camera market."

"The Stylus DX4400 is a mixed bag. Epson has managed to produce a
good-looking, functional all-in-one at a very competitive price, while
still offering individual ink cartridges and low running costs. Print
quality is also reasonable and the printer handles photo printing
surprisingly well for a machine not geared specifically to photos. Where
it misses out is on print speed and noise level. It takes a long time to
produce a page and could never be described as quiet thanks to Epson's
trademark paper feed mechanism."

"Back on September 6th of this year AMD shocked the open-source
community by committing to the development of a new open-source display
driver (this driver is now known as RadeonHD) and that they would be
providing specifications to the development community. A week later,
they set precedence by not only releasing the documentation to the
developers but to the everyone! Their first batch of documentation
covered the basics for the RV630 and M56 GPUs and was released freely to
the public without any Non-Disclosure Agreement! However, they still
have much more GPU documentation that has yet to be released. Some
simply believe AMD is doing this as a publicity stunt, but today we have
new details to share as they prepare for their next GPU documentation
release."

"Last month we looked at the Vitesta DDR2-800 Extreme memory
from A-DATA Technology. In that review we found that this DDR2 system
memory worked very well and we were pleased with the results. However,
in addition to their DRAM module selection they also have a growing
selection of flash memory products. A-DATA has separate flash drive
series geared for mobility, sport, classic, and themes. At hand today we
have the A-DATA Classic PD18 to see if their flash products are as good
as their system memory selection."

"The X-Jupiter Junior S Type case has some big features that are
defiantly worth mentioning. First and foremost there is a very noticeable
250mm intake fan. Additionally, it has a tool-less design, sturdy
construction and sharp looks."

"As we alluded to in Part 1 of this review the Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200.11 is aimed at the mainstream consumer market and the Seagate Barracuda 1TB ES.2 is designed more for enterprise networking solutions. In this part of the review we will concentrate on the Barracuda 1TB ES.2 and therefore will use a slightly different approach, one more slanted toward the audience for which this drive is intended. It should also be noted that our focus here will be primarily on testing; as many of the issues covered in Part 1 (i.e.; Perpendicular Magnetic Recording overview, and the like) are also applicable to this drive and would be redundant if repeated."

"Thermaltake recently added the Max 4 Active Cooling Enclosure to their lineup. This portable unit works with SATA hard drives and allows them to be used with USB 2.0 ports or faster eSATA connections. To help keep the drive cool, there is an 80 mm by 15 mm blue LED fan on one side and black mesh on the front and rear."

"The ATI Radeon HD 38XX series are the first graphics cards in the world to support DirectX 10.1 capabilities and plug-and-play ATI CrossFireX multi-GPU upgradeability. CrossFireX is similar to CrossFire, but up to four graphics cards are paired together this time around. If you would like to run eight displays or want the ultimate gaming performance from AMD – CrossFireX is the way to go, but you have to use an AMD 790FX motherboard with four x16 PCI Express lanes to make it possible. DirectX 10.1 brings awesome new lighting features like global illumination to reality, but in order to support Microsoft DirectX 10.1 these cards will need to be used on a system with Microsoft Vista SP1, which isn’t due out till sometime in 2008..."

"The new PowerColor HD3850 Xtreme arrived Technic3D. The new Graphic Card with RV670 Chip from AMD better than the 2900 Cards? Technic3D will see that, with the Overclocked Xtreme, in the following Review."

"The HE-Computer SilentEdition08 arrived Technic3D. The new PC come with Intel Core 2 Duo E6750@3,2 GHz CPU (Thermalright Cooling Heatsink), 2GB takeMS Ram, MSI Graphic Card 8800GTS OC and Abit IP35 Pro Mainboard. More Power for Gaming and this very Silent? See you in the following Review."

"Thermalright announced their new cooler dubbed the HR-11 VGA
Backside Cooler. The HR-11 has dual heat pipes and a large surface area to
offer additional cooling, with minimal effort required for installation. The
HR-11 will even work in a SLI / Crossfire condition on today's latest cards."

"You'd be mad not to consider this if you're after the ultimate partner
for your iPod. The Fatman iTube ValveDock is not only fantastically
well-made, absolutely gorgeous to look at, and extremely well integrated
with the iPod's control system, it's also a very good amplifier in its
own right - a world away from the rather compromised iPod Hi-Fi."

"What would you consider value from your OS? Some would say
compatibility with software and hardware. Others might say security,
since making sure your network and local machine is safe should be a
high priority. Others might claim accessibility, so that anyone can sit
down in front of a computer and get right to doing whatever it is that
they need to do. Based on a recent exchange between Microsoft CEO Steve
Ballmer and interviewer Yvonne Genovese, it appears that the truth about
just how bad Vista really appears to be is finally bubbling to the surface."

"I hear this too often - Windows is easier to use than Linux. And so in
light of this, being as I have used both operating systems for years, I
thought I would put this to the test, the results are not going to make
Windows users feel too good about this desktop choice overall, I'm afraid."

"When Boot Camp was first announced, the Mac community rejoiced about
the fact that they could now finally experience the pain and suffering
of Windows in a native way on their Macs. This is definitely one of
those"

"The problems I encountered with this procedure are as follows;
First when the top ‘H’ plate was resting on the heatsink base and I
was trying to insert and screw in the thumbscrews the processor was
free to slide about, this could be corrected when the top ‘H’ plate
had been tightened a bit (provided that you had noticed it), but it
more than likely will cause the thermal paste underneath to spread
unevenly and result in poor thermal performance."

"One type of product that has been around for a while, but has recently gained in appeal due to lower prices, is the digital photo frame. This gadget puts a high tech spin on an extremely low tech idea by replacing that one static photo with an LCD panel that allows the owner to display a slide show of their favorite images. This review is going to take a look at the Rosewill RDF-670B, a 7" inch widescreen frame that features a wood grain frame with black matting."

"It's been nearly seven months since I wrote my first article
about ATI drivers and how they literally crippled my computer and my
daily life. Last month, ATI had finally released their latest drivers
which contains the new OpenGL component and AIGLX support. Was this
release worth the amount of hype and did it solve everyone's problems?
For me, simply, no. After seven months of waiting, updating, and
struggling, things are not good for me, in every possible feature of the
ATI Linux driver I use."

"These days there are tons of gaming related devices available. For the most
parts, these products can be dismissed as marketing tricks. These devices
have nothing to do with gaming or they have a name of some famous gamer
slapped on to them at best. This makes it hard for a gamer to decide what
product is worth its asking price, as gaming related items tend to be more
expensive than similar products without this labeling."

"The Razer Lachesis is the first mouse to feature a third generation laser sensor which operates at a maximum of 4000 DPI. The new technology looks good on paper, but how does it perform in real world scenarios. In this review we will put this new technology to the test and see if it lives up to the expectations."

"The Corsair VX450W PSU arrived Technic3D. See you in the following Review from Technic3D the next PSU Review with a high efficiency and a good price. Make the Ultra-quiet 120mm double ball-bearing fan, 6 Serial ATA connectors and extra long cables support this PSU better than other PSUs?"

"Overall, there are a few flies in the ointment of //Call of Duty 4,
but none are big enough to prevent this from being a great game. The
main thing I felt the game was lacking was the ability to dive for cover
as there are a few areas of the game where you have no choose but to
dodge bullets and move between cover. At those times, navigation can be
a little difficult and you can easily get the process of sprint, stop,
duck a little bit wrong.
I can't count the times I got killed by a helicopter gunner because I
was ducking early or accidentally going prone instead of crouching.
The problem of weapon switching is a little annoying too and it seems
counter-productive to move a generation of gamers away from the mouse
wheel for seemingly no reason.
That said, there are a few nice extra touches which have been worked
into the latest game, such as the enemy intelligence which can be
collected throughout the game for extra boasting points. The voice
acting and clever use of loading screens as more high-tech briefings is
also particularly praise-worthy as it really helps make the game more
immersive and interesting.
There's bound to be a fairly large number of //Call of Duty fans who are
going to be disappointed by //Modern Warfare because it's moved away
from the original setting and shifted to the present delay. Those people
are missing the point. //Call of Duty 4 is the same as all the other
games in the franchise -- an awesomely fun war simulation which blends
realism and superheroic endurance to give players a war which is all at
once scary, difficult, moving and enjoyable. The shift to a new setting
is mostly a cosmetic change and it isn't a bad one at that.
Combine kinetic feel of the game which communicates every nudge of
recoil and the graphics which beautifully detail every bullet impact
with the same fluid gameplay we've all come to love and it's easy to see
that //Modern Warfare could be the best //Call of Duty game yet. It acts
as if it were in another, different Christopher Lambert film,
decapitating the opposition and absorbing their power to become the king
of all war shooters to date.
There can be only one. //Modern Warfare is it."

"Last year Seagate launched a 750GB 1st Generation Perpendicular hard drive to the world. When released the Barracuda 750GB 7200.10 was the largest hard drive was the largest drive available, notice we say was. This 750GB drive at the time was only bettered in performance by the Western digital Raptors, which only held 20% of the Barracuda's capacity. So now with people storing more music, videos and in Scott's case games and game demos even larger drives have become necessary. Seagate seeing that need has seen fit to drop a 1TB hard drive on us. This new drive is 2nd Generation Perpendicular technology based and has its CACHE upgraded from 16MB to 32MB."

"The launch of Unreal Tournament III on the PC and PS3 is mere weeks
away so we sent Hugo up to the launch event in Birmingham's Omega Sektor
to check out the latest build and grab a few words with Epic's Mark Rein."

"You can, of course, get better DLP projectors than the PD7060 if you're
prepared to chuck enough cash around. But if £1,750 is simply as much as
you can manage, the only other projector even in the same ballpark as
Planar's PD7060 is the outrageously good value InFocus IN78."

"The computer keyboard is the first and longest standing peripheral hardware device to exist in our industry. Very few changes have
altered the way casual users interact with their personal computer. But this is the new age of gaming-grade hardware, and basic equipment is not on
the parts list. Logitech introduces the G15 2007 Programmable LCD Gaming Keyboard 920-000379, and Benchmark Reviews tests it with a few of the more
popular video games."

"The key selling point of the Vantec NBA-100U is that you can add 5.1 channel stereo surround sound to just about any computer with a USB connection. While it might not be a good solution for a desktop computer, especially since most have integrated 5.1 channel audio these days, it is a great investment for any laptop user looking for an audio upgrade."

"We continue to be impressed by Nvidia's GeForce 8800 GT and in the
grand scheme of things, and BFGTech's overclocked card continues that
trend. Admittedly, the BFGTech 8800 GT OC is only a few frames per
second faster than the reference card in most scenarios, but the benefit
of the BFGTech card is that it comes with a decent warranty and, from
experience, good customer services too.
At around £182 (inc. VAT) with free delivery for active bit-tech forum
members, it's not the cheapest GeForce 8800 GT available - but it's
well-placed in the middle of the pricing matrix. XFX's Alpha Dog XXX
Edition, which comes with 670MHz core and 1950MHz memory clocks is all
the way up at £223 (inc. VAT), while the cheapest stock-clocked GeForce
8800 GT we've seen is around the £165-mark.
Ultimately, it depends what you're after and, if you don't mind waiting
a few days, BFGTech's GeForce 8800 GT OC2 should be available to buy on
Overclockers UK for around £195 (inc. VAT). This card comes clocked at
675MHz core, 1674MHz shader and 1950MHz memory -- you can achieve this
with a bit of overclocking on the 8800 GT OC, but is it worth saving £10
to potentially void your warranty?
On the whole, BFGTech's GeForce 8800 GT OC card delivers and it earns a
recommendation from us, but we'd like pricing (on the whole) to settle
down to more respectable levels. At the very least, we'd like the
prices to come down to the levels we were told the GeForce 8800 GT was
expected to hit in the run-up to its launch back on the 29th October. I
guess we're not going to see prices settle down until the demand starts
to drop off a little though, so it's a case of either get one when you
can, or wait a while until the demand shrinks -- supply is very short
at the moment it would seem, as everywhere we've looked, all GeForce
8800 GTs are on backorder."

"Cooler Master recently brought the CM 690 to the market which
offers some great features that a lot of higher end cases don't have. The CM
690 can take up to seven 120mm case fans, and offers a nice sleek looking
exterior."

"The Hiper Hiper HCK-1G12A Keyboard arrived Technic3D. 12mm Ultra slim design, scissor-type key mechanism and Purple LED in a grey Aluminium Design. Technic3D will see the functions in the following Review on Windows Vista and Office Work."

"Computers and their component parts do have a finite life span, and just like us, they have a list of afflictions that are most likely to claim their digital existences. Also just like us, most of these problems stem from careless handling, neglect, unhealthy environments and old age. Toss careless manufacturing into the mix, and you can see why the average computer system rarely survives more than ten years without some sort of catastrophic failure."

"For now, we have to give a thumbs up to the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT and welcome it with open arms to the GeForce 8800 series. This card should be a big hit this holiday season as it offers serious performance at a mainstream price tag that most gamers can afford. If you can't afford it however, this card is worth saving up for..."

"Back in March we had compared the performance of Ubuntu and
Fedora as we tested Ubuntu 6.10 and Fedora 6 along with development
versions of Ubuntu 7.04 and Fedora 7. During those benchmarks, Ubuntu
7.04 Alpha 5 had a slight lead over Fedora but the race was extremely
close. In August we compared Ubuntu and Fedora again along with Xubuntu,
Mandriva, and SimplyMEPIS, but using older PC hardware. In these
benchmarks, the results were also close but Mandriva was the leader. Now
with the release of Fedora 8 last week, we have run a new set of
benchmarks comparing it to the month-old Ubuntu 7.10."

"The Navigon 5100 is a bit of a mixed bag. It does some things well,
like motorway driving instructions, has a really solid windscreen mount,
a system that's about as configurable as you could hope for and one
that's pretty easy to use. There's plenty in its armoury that should
make it a PDA or smartphone navigation-beater. However, its urban
navigation is flawed, address entry is fiddly, the maps are a not as
clear as I'd have liked and it's not the best value for money."

"The S20 shows that SSL VPNs are the way forward for providing secure
access to the LAN for remote workers. For the price, it offers a lot of
useful feature for smaller businesses and the optional OTP solution
makes it even more versatile."

"With the introduction of the Z-Machine GT1000 chassis, Zalman has produced a worthy successor to their earlier Fatal1ty offering. I liked the Fatal1ty a lot; I like the Z-Machine a lot more. The GT1000 is better looking, easier to work in, has more hard drive space and comes in two color options. Cooling performance is just as good, if not better, than the original and the drive mounting solutions are both simple and elegantly executed."

"Benchmark Reviews continues on with our High-Speed DDR3 Overclocking and Review Series, which features over one dozen different DDR3
kits. Many of the kits we have tested so far have helped achieve extremely uncommon overclock speeds, and even some of the kits not setting speed
records managed to impress us with their combination of performance and value. So far, we have reviewed the Patriot DDR3 1866MHz Kit and Mushkin DDR3
1333MHz Kit, but today we are especially pleased to test the Super Talent PC3-14400 CL7-7-7-21 W1800UX2GP DDR3 1800MHz 2x1GB RAM Kit."

"Whether you are using Windows or Linux, you are never free of
running into hardware problems. It could be a bad power supply or a
faulty motherboard, but an incorrect diagnosis can be costly and timely
in production environments. PC-Doctor Inc, a company serving the
computing community since 1993, recently sent out their PC Doctor
Service Center 6 for review. This PC diagnostic test kit includes a
variety of hardware and software for helping to diagnose computer
problems. While this kit can help in solving computer problems, is it
worth $400 USD?"

"The DH-101 is Thermaltake's latest midsize HTPC offering. It features the well known Soundgraph iMON Graphical VFD and a lot of extra controls. It takes a normal ATX mainboard and has space for up to three hard drives, which leaves you free to choose which components you wish to install."

"Over the past two weeks there has been a number of new
developments in regards to the open-source NVIDIA driver, Nouveau. In
fact, the Nouveau team is preparing for the first stable release! This
stable open-source NVIDIA driver will support 2D, X-Video, and EXA
acceleration with all graphics cards from the NV05 to NV40 (GeForce 7)
series. Read more in the 30th edition of the Nouveau Companion."

"The Ultra X3 600W and 1,000W units overall are fantastic bits of kit
- they look as good as you can get and have an awesome set of cables to
complement the shiny gunmetal box. If you need a 1,000W model then the
Tagan or Enermax might still be slightly better options in terms of
absolute performance though. The Ultra X3 600W is an excellent choice
for those wanting a mainstream unit and although it may cost a bit more,
it's certainly a worthwhile investment. Many will still love the highly
recommended Corsair HX620, and quite rightly so, but the 600W X3 should
be considered quite a serious contender to it because it does just about
everything right."

"With all of our coverage at Phoronix of the different ATI and
NVIDIA graphics drivers, if you're new to Linux or just get caught off
guard by all of the different open and closed-source drivers, it can be
confusing to know which driver is right for you and your needs. At the
request of many readers, and the obvious need for a concise article
explaining the different solutions, we have written a synopsis of the
Linux graphics drivers currently available. This is really to let those
new to Linux know what choices are available for them and their graphics
card."

"The design feature that stands out the most on the ZEROtherm NV120 Premium is without a doubt the honeycomb fin design. This honeycomb structure was used to optimize air flow over the cooling fins and to increase the surface area. More than 6,748cm2 of cooling fins are found on the NV120 and this is said to greatly help heat dissipation..."

"Sony's new digital SLR is a semi-professional model aimed at the middle
of the market, currently the territory of the Canon EOS 40D, Nikon D300
and Pentax K10D. Can its combination of 12-megapixel resolution, and
environmentally-sealed body, sophisticated AF and image stabilisation
systems and high-speed performance further increase Sony's already
growing market share?"

"All in all, it's hard to view Leopard as much of an advance on Tiger.
The interface improvements are a mixture of 'great' and 'meh', while the
new features don't really add much beyond tweaks to your daily workflow.
The feature with the ability to really blow you away - Spaces - is
switched off by default, and probably won't be found by the majority of
people. So whilst Leopard will undoubtedly sell tonnes of copies (quite
apart from the fact it will now ship with all new Macs), it's hard not
to feel that, given the system's delay and hype, Apple has delivered too
little too late - with too many bugs, to boot. Perhaps it's time for
Apple to start thinking about OS XI?"

"Maxtor has teamed up with Bigbruin.com for a new give away. Up for grabs is a brand new Maxtor OneTouch 4 Mini 80GB External Hard Drive! The occasion is to celebrate Maxtor/Seagate hitting the road for the 3rd annual Digital Experience Tour with special appearances by the Frag Dolls."

"OCZ's ATV Turbo 4 GB USB stick comes in a flashy yellow color with a rugged rubber shell. It uses Dual Channel Technology to maximize performance - in our testing 35.0 MB/s. To check if it can take the pressure we ran over it with a car and then fried it. Literally, in a frying pan."

"We've all been there - flipping through our display properties and
seeing the colour quality setting. Which to choose, which to
choose...higher is better, right? And so we all flip to 32-bit,
convinced that we're seeing the best that our computers can offer. We
are...aren't we?
Well, maybe. You see, colour quality, known more accurately as"

"There's little denying the quality of the Samsung 245T. It's incredibly
versatile with plenty of connectivity, adjustment and a simple and
attractive design. Add in the 97 per cent colour gamut and 1:1 pixel
mapping at 1080p and you have a recipe for greatness. However, the
Motion Picture Acceleration mode is disappointing, while the slightly
uneven backlight is a cause for concern. As such, at this time the price
needs to come down a fair amount before we can recommend it wholeheartedly."

"The Kingston didn't come close to its enormous 1,200MHz rated speed on
our Abit P35 test platform but neither did the OCZ we used for
comparison. Of course that's disappointing but the KHX9600 was
rock-steady and delivered sterling performance at a surprisingly
reasonable price."

"Benchmark Reviews recently had the opportunity to test the Synology Disk Station DS-207+ SATA Gigabit NAS (Network Attached Storage)
device. The basic premise behind the NAS box started out as a fairly simple one, allow networked client computers easy access to shared files across
the network without the need for a full blown server. While this may sound simple, the NAS boxes of the past have been plagued with horrid
performance in the speed department. I should place a heavy emphasis on “past” because recently that has all changed, and the idea of tolerating
slow transfer speeds from a NAS box is just not going to fly anymore, especially with the arrival of products like the DS207+. I guess I just spoiled
any suspense as to how the DS207+ performs. This is one incredible little box."

"The Origen AE S10V is a pure HPTC case. It is compact and features a VFD with an integrated IR receiver for that Vista MCE remote. You will not find custom software or unneeded features inside this case, which makes it such a perfect choice for that big, 1080p TV you have in your living room."

"Designed around Intel's successful P35 Express and ICH9R chipsets, the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R supports socket 775 Intel Core 2 Duo/Quad/Extreme, Celeron D, and Pentium 4/D/XE processors operating on a 800/1066/1333 MHz FSB. As is standard, up to 8GB of DDR2 1066/80/667 memory can be installed in a dual channel configuration. If you're using Microsoft Windows XP 1GB of RAM should be fine, but for Windows Vista 2GB is a much better."

"The Gigabyte Ga-MA69GM-S2H is a board that is targeted to the HTPC market. It has a rich feature set for a micro board, and will make a great board for its intended purpose. The addition of HDMI should make setup and use with your HTPC and plasma or LCD a piece of cake!"

"The iPhone is one of the most beautifully designed technology products
I have ever used. Not only does it look great, but the usability puts
even its good looks in the shade. The fact that you need no stylus to
use the iPhone, speaks volumes about its user interface."

"The big question is whether the 42Z3030D is worth the £350 premium over
the excellent Toshiba 42X3030D, and ultimately the answer is yes. You're
getting an extra HDMI port, 100Hz processing, xvYCC wide colour gamut,
Deep Colour support and a more stylish design. And you'll be safe in the
knowledge that this TV sits at the top of the Toshiba tree."

"The VIZO Master Panel II Expansion Interface is a multifunctional controller panel; an updated version to Vizo's original Master Panel,
that brings added provisions and features to where their needed...Up front. Here at Benchmark Reviews we are very familiar with the ongoing revolution
in portable media. Wheather its uploading play-lists for an MP3 player or the day's pictures from a digital camera; everyone wants a convenient way to
manage their data without having to fumble around the back of their cases. This popular demand has even driven manufacturers to add the most basic I/O
ports to the front of PCs. However, with there being so many proprietary media standards, a convenient and centralized solution is still missing from
many if not all case designs, leaving consumers looking to after market solutions for their needs."

"With easy to access PCIe locks like the ones on the GA-P35-DS4, it doesn't matter if the videocard has a large double-slot heatsink, access is unimpeded. If you have to struggle with a screwdriver to release an obscured PCIe slot lock and get the videocard out, you may end up with an electrical short or snapped component. Just a thought, it's not like PCSTATS has had hands on experience with 200-odd motherboards or anything... oh wait! We have. :-)"

Is AMD Really a Sinking Ship? AMD Phenom Is Around The Bend @ Legit Reviews

"The take home message here is that AMD, from my point of view, is not a sinking ship. They just need to make sure they get out their next generation of processors and chipsets out on time. AMD has been delayed getting numerous products out the door as scheduled and that is without a doubt hurting them. Sure AMD will have the first ‘true’ quad-core processor, but how many consumers really cares if something is true or not? Could you imagine walking into Best Buy or Circuit City and hearing a sales associate telling a customer"

"For enthusiasts, stock coolers just never cut it. Period. It
doesn't matter whether it's a video card, a CPU, a motherboard chipset,
or anything that puts out a decent amount of heat. After-market
heatsinks and other cooling solutions have become a huge market. One of
the bigger cooling issues these days is graphics cards. Even the big
beefy coolers you see on the GeForce 8800 series rarely perform as well
as they look. Many times the performance can be radically improved
simply by removing all of the thermal paste and using a compound like
Arctic Silver 5 and ensuring good contact with the GPU, but sometimes
not. This is where Thermaltake steps up to the plate. Their newest
incarnation of GPU cooler is the DuOrb CL-G0102, but does it perform well?"

"Kane and Lynch is shaping up to be a fantastic game, with an
innovative (though perhaps a little too streamlined) multiplayer game,
fantastic co-op and a talented and passionate team behind it. That much
had been proved to me for the second time.
I do have concerns though. The last level which I played was of such
stark contrast to the previous levels that I had some misgivings about
the direction the consistently brilliant story had taken. Knowing that
this level came at the end of the game didn't help matters much either
and made me think the game had an overly Hollywood-ised endings.
Interestingly, endings are something that IO Interactive has had trouble
with in the past too. The original //Hitman drew considerable scorn for
changing pace abruptly in the latter stages, forcing Agent 47 to switch
from a silent and stealthy figure of detached doom into a minigun toting
symbol of freedom and self-hatred as he mowed down dozens of clones of
himself.
However, comparing //Hitman and //Kane and Lynch shouldn't reflect badly
on either and, if anything, reflects well on IO's new kid on the block.
//Kane and Lynch may possibly have a fly in the ointment regarding the
latter part of the game, but if that's all there is to worry about then
it's highly possible that we could have some game of the year material
on our hands in the near future./"

"All-in-all, the MusicPal is a competent Internet radio. It's easy to
use and set up, it has a decent range of features and it comes in at a
reasonable price too, at under £100. But it's a fiddle to add BBC radio
stations, it's not the most solidly engineered product and sound quality
isn't wonderful. It looks like we've still got a bit of a wait yet for a
DAB-beating Internet radio to emerge after all."

"A game with a few gaping flaws, but with enough of The Simpsons wit and
intelligence to mask them pretty well. Smartly written and laugh out
loud funny, it's a title that fans of games and fans of the show should
enjoy."

"There's no doubt that spending a little on a pair of after market
headphones will realise a lot in terms of improved sound quality, and
these headphones from v-moda prove that you don't necessarily have to
spend big bucks. They won't suit anyone for whom balance and clarity is
a priority and there are headphones for not much more that are better
for classical and acoustic music. But for electronic music and dance
with a lot of bass they knock anything I've heard into a cocked hat for
the money."

"Simply put, this case has it all – a roomy interior, five fans, liquid cooling readiness, a front panel and storage drawer that can be relocated and solid construction. The 250mm side panel fan spans a wide area and provides additional cooling directly to the CPU and other motherboard components."

"Rumors are making their way around media publications about a possible
Tablet PC from Apple. Microsoft, and Bill Gates in particular, were super
excited about the Tablet PC, but obviously, their efforts didn't prove to
be fruitful. Although they continue to battle it out in hopes of
succeeding, Apple has the market all to itself if they want to pursue it.
Who's going to compete against Apple? Microsoft sure isn't a threat.
Before I get too insulting, here are my reasons for why Apple will be uber
successful with Tablet PCs."

"By now all of you have likely heard of the Google concept call the
'Gphone.' Yet there remains a lot of speculation in regards to its
future. Will it will always remain a mobile OS, or will Google ever
enter the hardware market remains to be seen? However, I can point you
to a few things that I believe will indeed, come to light sooner than
later. Some of them might surprise you."

"Whether you own an iPhone or not, I hope that you’ve had the
opportunity to see some of the extremely creative stuff that has been
developed for it by outsiders. Not only have developers utilized the
multi-touch display, but the accelerometer has also come into play with
games and other animations, and it’s been proven that the iPhone has
what it takes to be an incredible development platform."

"Every once in a while, something new comes along that is both a bit
confusing and amazingly cool all at the same time. Upon discovering the
new product aptly called Splashtop, DeviceVM allows a user to browse the
Web, talk on Skype, and access other PC functions without the need to
boot into your computer's OS. Interesting and cool? Most definitely! Of
clear and definitive value? Thus far, no one seems to be able to
demonstrate to me why I should care about this."

"For the money, we simply can't think of a better video card to buy. The MSI NX8800GT-T2D512E-OC offers performance that matches cards up to 40% more money. That is an amazing value in our minds and if you're a serious gamer needing a video card that will really immerse you in the game, you'd need to look no further than this."

"Logitech goes all out with their latest gaming mouse - the G9. While it may look very futuristic, the shape is perfect for right handed gamers. The G9 can be customized in almost every aspect, from weight to size and feel over to all the DPI settings and button assignments. This makes the device the perfect weapon of choice, no matter what type of gamer you are."

"nVIDIA SLI and to a lesser degree AMD CrossFire have made buying a new videocard an interesting exercise. With both standards being supported by game developers, more gamers are starting to ask if two heads really are better than one?"

"Simply ignore DDR3-based X38 boards for the time being because there
is literally no extra performance on offer - this is very likely not
unique to Gigabyte though. Even then, as a top of the range DQ6 board, I
don't feel the box package and the overclocking capabilities are where
they should be. There's nothing over and above the DS5 apart from
different capacitors, a few more power phases and a Gigabit Ethernet
socket. The GA-X38T-DQ6 is a good, stable board at stock speeds but I'd
still buy the GA-X38-DS5 which does the same for less, without the extra
burden that is the cost of DDR3 memory at the moment.
If you feel the overwhelming desire to buy an X38 board over P35, then
the Gigabyte GA-X38-DS5 should certainly be one to consider even if
you're not that cost concious. It performs very well, has plenty of
features, is super stable and has the same BIOS options as the DQ6.
However, it's not a great overclocker like an X38 should be and offers
virtually no performance advantage over cheaper P35-based boards."

"With the release of the iMON Ultra Bay, SoundGraph has really upped the ante when it comes to media functionality for the PC. This product really can turn your PC into a HTPC while adding a bit of style and visual interest. I was very impressed with the software and remote, and the Ultra Bay will look right at home in most any black or silver case. The blue display is both attractive and functional, with a wide array of custom settings that users can tweak to their own tastes."

"There's no doubt that the Individual Compose 40's price will just be
too rich for many people's blood, especially as its pictures can only be
characterised as good rather than excellent. But then the set isn't
aimed at the ‘many' but rather at the well-heeled, brand-conscious few.
And we reckon it should suit that market down to the ground."

"Nicely designed and chock full of connectivity, the CMV 222H's many
image quality failings are offset somewhat by its plethora of features,
decent design and bargain basement price. This makes it a good fit for a
PC and console gamer on a very tight budget, though for anything else it
will disappoint."

"What happens when you take 200 hardcore roughly 10 project managers
heck bent on making sure that your preferred Linux distro has the best
driver support possible? You end up with The Linux Driver project."

"Could Facebook become the next Microsoft? TechCrunch recently examined
this and has their thoughts on the matter. Personally, I see Facebook as
redefining the OS rather than simply mirroring successes of failures had
by Microsoft. Placing them into the same category as Microsoft may
actually prove counter-productive, as they are two completely different
types of companies, despite any striking similarities."

"For a number of years, Apple maintained a fairly minimal product line.
This enabled them to keep a close watch on their products and focus
their development efforts on concentrated markets. Of course, time
changes things. Apple seems to be all over the place now, and if there
are any new and interesting facets of technology out there, then Apple
wants to be there. As is the case with any company, we only know what we
see or hear from them, and who knows what’s really being cooked up in
the dark recesses of the R&D labs."

"Alright, we get it. Social networking is the future, and it's here to
stay. Regardless of what Ballmer [Microsoft CEO] says, it's not a fad, and
we believe it. Now, stop the madness! I can take MySpace (what an ugly
site, by the way), Facebook (soothing) and LinkedIn (professionalism at
its best). While I'm at it, I'll even sign up and support niche social
news sites, but for the rest of you social networking sites trying to make
your mark, drop it and get out. None of my"

"Oh, this is cool! The Times recently ran a story on cell phone jammers
and how silence seekers are abusing the questionable legality of such
devices for personal gain. You see, a number of people are purchasing
cheap cell phone jammers and taking them around town. If they hear an
overly obnoxious caller, they sneakily press a button to drop the call."

"We know how confusing it can be choosing the right components for a new computer system, or an upgrade to an existing one. That's why we've assembled the PCSTATS ShoppingList as a guide to help you get good gear. Below you'll find one of the three ShoppingList's which you can print out and bring to your local retailer, or use as a general set of guidelines. We cover the basic components needed to assemble a full system, with monitor, and list the average $USD price each part retails for. Use the ShoppingList as a guide to build a better "white box" system, or follow our recommendations to the letter - it's totally up to you."

"In the end I was very pleased with the performance of the stock clocked PNY XLR8 8800 GT 512MB video card. This card carries a bargain price that most gamers can afford and provides performance that is better than many video cards costing more money. The stock PNY XLR8 8800 GT 512MB ran impressively close to the super expensive and high-end XFX 8800 Ultra XXX in 3DMark06."

bit-tech Feature: A first look at the Enthusiast System Architecture (ESA)

"On the whole, I think Nvidia should be commended for drafting the
Enthusiast System Architecture specification, as I believe the industry
can benefit from an open standard for hardware monitoring and control,
but I still have my concerns. While ESA sounds great in theory, the
problem is that the only thing being certified is the protocol and that
information is being sent to the host PC.
What it doesn't do is guarantee that the information being sent to the
host PC is correct. For example, your power supply could be reporting
incorrect voltages or load while your water cooler is reporting the
wrong liquid temperature or flow rate. The current draft of the
specification means that you wouldn't be able to determine whether the
information you're actually being presented with is accurate."

"It will be interesting to see where ESA will go, but we hope it takes off as having all this monitoring data in one place will be nice. The days of not know what is going on in the system are gone! Thanks NVIDIA for stepping up to the plate and making ESA a reality and most of all an open standard..."

"Nvidia has developed a new specification intended to make your computer system much smarter. According to their press release, Enthusiast System Architecture (ESA) is "a new standard for real-time monitoring & controlling PC chassis, power supplies, & water cooling peripherals." Let's take a look at some of the basics..."

"With the projected increase in the elderly population, the
rising cost of health-care, and the lack of available resources to those
with Alzheimer's and other neuro-degenerative diseases, a new technology
start-up is hoping to alleviate some of this burden and create a new
opportunity for Linux in the next-generation tele-health market.
Reside@HOME is an"

"The AudioFX Pro 5+1 PC Gaming Headset by Ben Heck offer many features that would appeal to anyone in need of a new audio solution for their PC gaming setup. Among other things they are comfortable, attractive, provide a convincing surround sound effect, and you don't need to worry about the quality of your sound card since one isn't needed at all."

"I recently reviewed the A.C. Ryan AluBox Duo LAN, an interesting NDAS external enclosure that could house up to 2 hard drives and even RAID them together with more AluBox LAN enclosures. Not everyone needs such a beast so today I am taking a look at a slightly more conventional external hard drive enclosure, the AluBox eSATA enclosure that allows you to insert a SATA or an IDE-drive and then hook the drive up to the computer over USB2.0 or eSATA."

"So what did I think of the Mountain Jade? Aside from some minor problems, I found the case to be easy to build, with solid construction throughout. While certainly not very expandable, it should be a decent performer for a multimedia PC or HTPC. The lack of fans initially left me a little leery of performance, but testing set me straight."

"Is Linux really ready for prime time, and just as importantly, can the
idea of changing the way people compute be passed onto the common home
user? When reading brilliant comments like this, I have to wonder if the
common user is bright enough to make such a subtle switch over to the
open source OS alternative..."

"For the most part, I have been fairly content with the release of Flash
9 for Linux, with the possible exception of occasional Flash-related
browser crashes. Even with this bug, just the move from Flash 7 to Flash
9 has made the usability of any modern browsing experience a lot more
attractive, especially when watching Flash video. Using Flash 7 meant
having things work like an old Bruce Lee movie, complete with simulated
lip syncing. Purists may deny this, but Flash is very important to most
common Linux users. I imagine it is the same case with users of other
platforms as well."

"Has anyone really, and I mean really, spent hours researching the issue
of using libdvdcss in Linux to watch DVDs? What would you say if I told
you much of what you are reading about this issue is complete bunk? Want
the truth? Using libdvdcss is only illegal if, and I say if, it needs to
implement DeCSS to allow for encrypted DVD viewing."

"Kensington recently announced 19 new products, one of which is the
SlimBlade Media Notebook Set for notebook computers. Obviously the company
has gone insane with a complete overhaul of its product lineup just before
Q4, but we like it. We like crazy companies that have what it takes to bat
for users, and with a slew of new products in its portfolio, Kensington's
dedication shines through. On a more realistic note, however, could a
company successfully launch 19 products and have all of them work well? We
shall see, we shall see soon..."

"Out of the 19 products that Kensington just announced, another one of
them is the SlimBlade Presenter Mouse. Again, it's a simple enough mouse
with much of the ergonomics inspired from the mouse we saw in the
SlimBlade Media Notebook Set. However, there are naturally some
differences between the two. The mouse continues to sport circular, round
edge with a sleek, shiny exterior that makes it compatible for left and
right-handed users. That's the beauty of it all. Since it's a mobile
mouse, again, size matters, but we have stopped hammering companies for
portable mice. We figure if you can't use a notebook mouse for its size, a
ton of other features won't sway you one way or the other. Besides, by
now, you should know whether or not a notebook mouse is for you to begin
with."

"The Photosmart C4280 has a lot going for it. It's compact, easy-to-use,
doesn't cost that much to run and produces above-average print quality,
relatively quickly. Where it scores over its main competitors, though,
is in having a colour LCD display which is used sensibly for both
control and previewing of photos. At the price, the other All-in-Ones
don't offer this ease-of-use feature."

"Don't let a bumpy start spoil another great entry in the Metroid canon.
The first-person gameplay and the Wii controls are a marriage made in
heaven, and the game gets better and more immersive the longer it goes on."

"TimeShift isn't a great game, an opinion I've probably already
over-communicated, but it does have some redeeming features. The whole
thing is pretty easy to pick up and gamers who want some mindless action
will no doubt get a kick out of it. The environments are well detailed
too, with some nice weather effects doing a good job of hiding some of
the uglier graphics and more poorly designed levels.
One thing I did like about the game though was the unlockables section,
which lets players unlock extra little videos and snippets which explain
bits of the story. Sure, it further evidences the fact that the story is
poorly structured and told, but if you really get into it then it's a
nice way to build in detail slowly.
In the end though the game doesn't do enough to make itself stand out
from the crowd of truly awesome games this year. //TimeShift has come at
a time when it has to compete with the likes of //Halo 3, //The Orange
Box and a host of other titles headed to the Xbox 360. By that measure
the game ends up falling a little flat and, while it may be good to pick
up from the bargain bin for a rainy Saturday (as long as you try not to
take it too seriously), that may be just about all it's good for and the
game isn't really worth the time of most players."

"This past Friday we had delivered benchmarks comparing the
performance of the open-source Radeon driver against the new
closed-source fglrx driver from AMD. These benchmarks had just looked at
the AIGLX performance when using Compiz on an Ubuntu 7.10 desktop. In
all of the benchmarks except one, the fglrx driver had carried a
staggering lead over the open-source competition. In addition to these
Compiz benchmarks, on the same system we had also ran some additional
benchmarks to see for gaming and 2D rendering how the two ATI Linux
drivers compare."

"Many of you have probably seen commercials lately pushing heavily for
mobile broadband. It's all the rage for road warriors who need to get
high speed internet access while out in the field with their laptops. In
past years, many have found ways to tether their smartphones to their
laptops to get access. Although this is a great way to get mobile
broadband, some providers have been known to shut down accounts doing
this. Things have progressed quite far ahead lately where laptop EVDO
and EDGE PCMCIA and USB cards are affordable to the masses.
High speed wireless cards are great but with one downfall -- it's a one
user device. Or is it? In a recent trip outdoors, I was scratching my
head trying to find a way to bring broadband access to 20+ people. I had
one Verizon Wireless laptop USB card and a basic 802.11g wifi router.
After tinkering around for an hour or two, I found a way to share that
single cellphone connection amongst everyone."

"Earlier this week Everex launched the gPC TC2502, which is a
sub-$200 PC sold at a major US retailer, but what makes this unique is
that it runs the gOS. The gOS (GreenOS) is designed to be a conceptual
Google Operating System that is based upon Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon.
Though this is not the conventional GNOME desktop environment but an
Enlightenment E17 desktop is used that is heavily modified and reflects
a green Google theme. The gOS provides easy access to Google services
such as YouTube, Google Product Search, Google Calendar, and Google
Maps. Also a click away are other web services such as Wikipedia and
Facebook. This isn't a pure Internet desktop but Xine, Skype,
OpenOffice.org, and other applications are available for this Linux
LiveCD. We've been trying the gOS out for a while and it's a rather nice
slim desktop Linux distribution that would be perfect for Internet cafes
and other public places."

"The technology world is becoming increasingly mobile-oriented
these days. The Internet is present in everyone's lives. However, it's
not about choosing between life and Internet anymore, it's about the
integration of the web and life, and leveraging its power. Thus
notebooks are growing more powerful and more mobile than ever before.
Even though the days of scalding-hot laptops are gone, laptops still
need cooling in order to increase its lifespan. Passive coolers have
only been marginally effective. Active coolers tend to be noisy or as
bulky as a second laptop. Most people try them for a while and
religiously lug around a clunky plastic stand with their other laptop
gear. Eventually the coolers just are stuffed in a corner to collect
dust. So what does one do? Is there an effective passive cooler that
doesn't take up a second laptop's space? Thermaltake seems to think it
has the answer with the iXoft Notebook Cooling Pad."

"Nvidia's GeForce 8800 GT is a truly stunning product and is a
refreshing change to the rather dull graphics card market we've been
subjected to ever since the high that was the launch of Nvidia's GeForce
8800 GTX. It's not a GeForce 8800 GTX killer and if you were making the
choice between GeForce 8800 GTX and a pair of GeForce 8800 GTs, I would
still opt for the former, but as a single card solution for just over
?150 (inc. VAT), it's an almost unmissable proposition.
It incorporates everything that was great about G80, and also throws in
the only good feature in Nvidia's G84 and G86 graphics chips - the
second-generation video processor.
Yes, there are a few driver issues, but Nvidia is aware of the bugs
we've pointed out and we're working with the company to fix them. By the
time the new year rolls in and prices have settled down a bit, this card
has every chance of being an absolute steal for PC gamers and
enthusiasts looking for great performance on a budget. Who said that PC
gaming was about to die?"

"The Glacialtech Igloo 5062 Cu Light is a socket 775 cooler for Intel Pentium D, Core 2 Duo and Celeron processors. This allows the Igloo 5062 Cu to operate quietly under power, generating about 45 dBA according to Frostytech's sound meter. The heatsink is compact in size, and weighs a feathery 341 grams. The Igloo 5062 Cu Light ships with a pre-applied patch of high viscosity thermal compound applied to its base which is a nice touch."

"he entire starter kit is very handy and works well. The only things I found lacking were the lack of any accessories for the included tools from driver bits to saw blades and the lack of a clutch on the screwdriver. I found during my testing that I was unable to tighten the screws all the way to keep from splitting the wood accidentally and finish the tightening with a normal screwdriver."

"Bluetooth hands free devices are nothing new, and have been a common accessory for mobile phones for years. While the quality may vary greatly among all of the units on the market, the issues of sound clarity and user comfort seem to be common among many of them. The SM100 EarModule is touted by Sound ID as the solution to these common problems in mobile communications."

"The latest in a successful series of ultra-compact cameras, the Pentax
Optio S10 combines excellent build quality, simplicity of design and
good all-round performance with a user-friendly ease of use. It compares
well with other quality compacts from rival manufacturers, and its very
good low-light performance makes it especially useful for social
snapshot photography. If you're looking for a camera to record the
office Christmas party it should definitely be on your shortlist."

"Despite the seemingly high price tag, these speakers are actually great
value for money for an amp, sub and speaker set up. They look wonderful,
resplendent with their transparent spheres and horns, and the amp is
well-designed too. But all that takes a back seat when you start to
listen. They produce a sound that's detailed, natural and emotionally
involving in a way that you just don't get from traditional speaker
designs, and that's worth paying good money for."

"You pay plenty for the Maximus Extreme, but that's true of any X38
motherboard. We're not convinced about the merits of three graphics
slots but neither can we see any harm in the set-up that Asus has chosen
and the cooling system and Fusion block are simply superb."

"There's no doubt that the QX9650 is a very impressive CPU that
convincingly faster than anything that's out there right now. Clearly
the price places it out of the range of all but the most dedicated and
well-heeled enthusiasts but it serves its purpose as a truly impressive
flagship processor for Intel. And perhaps even more importantly it bodes
well for next year's more affordable variants. The only question now is
whether AMD can muster a suitable response with Phenom."

"Before I saw CoPilot Live 7 I was sceptical that the improvements could
really make much of a difference to what was already good software. But
I was wrong. In my mind this sets the standard for Smartphone navigation
that others have to challenge."

"While the nVidia 8800 GT doesn't beat the established 8800 GTX, it
provides close to the performance for a fraction of the price and also
packs in more features to sweeten the deal. Add to this it's small size,
cool operation, and quiet running and you have a card that we can't
recommend highly enough. It's simply phenomenal."

"When you get right down to it, Hellgate: London isn't quite the epic
RPG re-imagining that it was hyped up to be and just goes to show that
even a team of ex-Blizzard developers don't always produce golden games.
That said, the game is still enjoyable and playable and if you're after
a game which tries to do lots of different things at once then
//Hellgate is The Safe Bet.
A jack of all trades and a master of none, //Hellgate feels like an odd
blend of //Knights of The Old Republic and //Nethack, with a touch of
FPS thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately, while it keeps a lot of
the good stuff from these games it also retains a few of the flaws and
we're left with a game that is probably going to entertain most people
for a good twenty or so hours, but which isn't really going to rock
anyone's world."

"Thermaltake has been in enclosure department for almost six years. Their design, engineering and marketing teams work really hard to entice potential customers to buy their product. The only problem is this particular business grows too fast for most of us. It's not necessarily a bad thing, just makes it hard to make the right choice. Having said that, more PC users tend to use their machines in a livingroom as a popular HTPC solution. Obviously you'd want an enclosure that would fit that environment and not have something looking like a regular personal computer chassis."

"At the beginning of our series we reviewed the a set of system memory destined for only the most elite overclocking systems a hardware enthusiast could ever dream up. In this second
installment featuring the Mushkin PC3-10666 CL6-7-6-18 HP3-10666 DDR3 1333MHz 1GBx2 1.8V RAM kit, Benchmark Reviews has moved away from the expensive focus on extreme overclocking and onto a
reasonably priced DDR3 product more likely to make it onto hardware enthusiasts' Christmas lists this year."

"The Glacialtech Igloo 5057 E is a socket 775 Intel heatsink for Pentium D, Core 2 Duo and Celeron processors. Owing to its all-aluminum construction, the Igloo 5057E is probably best used on sub-90W processors."

"So for those enthusiasts who want to move beyond air cooling but fear the thought of a geyser inside their case, there is another alternative: thermoelectric cooling (TEC). Today we'll be examining a TEC product that isn't your typical liquid cooling unit and claims to offer advanced cooling capabilities: the CoolIT Systems Freezone Elite."

"ATP's new Tough Drive Mini 2 GB is a USB stick which offers high speed performance and support for Windows Vista Ready Boost. As the name suggests the drive is rugged and waterproof. To verify the manufacturer's claims we tried to break it - with a hammer!"

"This dock is water and shock resistant and designed to allow music lovers to listen to music outside without fear of damaging their iPod.
Sound quality from the i-XPS 120 Outdoor was good with respectable levels of bass and sharp mids and highs. On the outside of the dock are controls that allow you to change the track on docked iPods, control volume, power on or off, and a 3D effect button."

"With much anticipation by the OpenSolaris community, last
night Sun had released their first developer preview for the binary
desktop distribution that we have known over the past couple of months
as Project Indiana. Ian Murdock and company are optimistic for this
project that will address some of the existing Solaris adoption barriers
when it comes to the installation, package management, and
familiarization along with revitalizing the user experience. How does
this first milestone of Project Indiana, which in fact will be named
OpenSolaris, rank when it comes to meeting their objectives? In this
review, we have a lot of information and screenshots on this
long-awaited OpenSolaris binary distribution."

"The Sirtec HighPower RockSolid 1000W (HPC-1000-G14C) PSU arrived Technic3D. See you in the following Review from Technic3D the High-End PSU with a high efficiency (good ecology and economy). More power you needed?"

"Surprised? So are we. We don't generally take a look at tech-oriented
furniture, but let's make an exception. We could go on and on about the
benefits of having comfortable furniture, but there's no point. You know
that already. When you are working with a notebook in your lap or just
want to relax, having a comfortable chair to sit on can make a world of
difference. Sumo is reinforcing that concept with a bean bag chair,
appropriately named Omni."

"Sometimes it’s fun to think about potential events that may not be
likely to happen, but if they did, things would certainly be different.
For example, my wife has been trained in graphic design, and we were
recently talking about how crazy it would be if Apple fully acquired
Adobe. When you put the puzzle pieces together, this actually begins to
make a lot of sense."

"First of all, this guy is further off his rocker than I'm. Seriously,
nearly everything in this entire article is completely inaccurate. And
the best part is how he bundled this into unrelated politics! Wow, that
is not a smart direction to go in, but whatever."

"I was truly disheartened after trying out Evolution on Windows: how in
the heck is this even considered anything but an Alpha? As a full-time
Evolution user in Ubuntu, I have always been very happy with its PIM
(personal information manager) abilities, MS Exchange support and the
fact that it's easy to create a simple backup script to keep things safe
in case of data loss."